Moscow, Dec 20 (NationPress) Russia executed a coordinated strike employing long-range precision weaponry on Friday, retaliating against Ukrainian assaults on its chemical facility using Western-made missiles.

The target of the strike included the Ukrainian Security Service command post, the state-run Kyiv design bureau "Luch," and positions of the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system, according to a statement from the Russian Defence Ministry.

This operation was a direct response to Ukraine's attack on a Russian chemical plant in the Rostov region with six US-made ATACMS tactical missiles and four Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles earlier in the week.

According to Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces, five Russian missiles targeted Kyiv; however, they were intercepted by Ukrainian air defense at approximately 7 am (0500 GMT).

The remnants of the downed missiles led to casualties and damage across five districts of Kyiv, as reported by the Xinhua news agency.

In a significant policy shift regarding the Ukraine crisis, the United States authorized Ukraine in November to deploy US long-range missiles against targets in Russia, escalating tensions surrounding the conflict.

Earlier this week, the Ukrainian government-run Ukrinform news agency reported that, according to a senior diplomat, Russia had conducted 12 attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure this year, deploying approximately 1,100 missiles.

Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, stated that these assaults involved both cruise and ballistic missiles.

Last week, Russia executed one of its most extensive attacks on Ukraine's energy facilities this year, launching 94 missiles and 193 drones, Kyslytsya noted.

The state-run energy company Ukrenergo estimated that Ukraine has lost around nine gigawatts of generating capacity due to the assaults.

Additionally, Russian authorities detained an Uzbek citizen in connection with the fatalities of a senior military official and his assistant.

The 29-year-old suspect faces accusations of conducting a terrorist attack that resulted in the deaths of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian armed forces' radiological, chemical, and biological defense troops, along with his aide.

According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the suspect was allegedly recruited by Ukrainian intelligence and provided a homemade explosive device upon his arrival in Moscow. He purportedly placed the device on an electric scooter parked near the entrance of the building where Kirillov lived.